What impression do you have of Christopher’s mother from the letters that she writes to him?

From the letters that Christopher’s mother wrote to him, my impression of his mother is that she is caring and thoughtful, keeps her promises, but unreasonable and selfish at times.

I say that she is caring and thoughtful because she ‘wanted to explain’ to Christopher when she had ‘the time to do it properly’ about the reason she went away. This shows that she takes the initiative ‘to try and explain’ even when she knew that he ‘might not understand any of this’. She also bothered to ask about his ambition, whether ‘has it changed’ or about whether he is ‘still doing math’. Furthermore, she is concerned about Christopher as she constantly ask him ‘how you are’ and ‘what your doing at school’.
Having thought that Christopher ‘always liked puzzles’, she remembered to buy a puzzle for him. This shows that Christopher’s mother still does care and thinks for Christopher. Hence, it is both her heart and mind that shows her caring and thoughtful character.

She is a person who keeps her promises because she said that she’ll write to Christopher ‘every week’ and she sis. Having been told by Christopher’s father that she cannot ‘come back’ nor can she talk to Christopher, she did not, but still continue to write letters to him instead. Hence, it was her simple actions that make her reliable.

She is unreasonable because at the Bentalls, she knew that Christopher would behave the way he always did in crowded places yet she ‘got cross’. Even if she ‘felt really lonely’ because of the arguments with Christopher’s father, and that she felt that Christopher and his father ‘were probably better off’ if she ‘wasn’t living in the house’, these were not good reasons for her to leave. Furthermore, she ‘got cross’ and ‘threw the food across the room’ because Christopher ‘hadn’t eaten for days and days’ and ‘looking so thin’, yet he did not want to eat the food she cooked. Therefore, it is her character that determines her unreasonable act.

She is selfish at times because she knew she wasn’t very patient, yet she felt that ‘there’s nothing I can do to change that’. This shows that she only thinks of her own comfort and that others have to change because of her. When Christopher crouched down at Bantall and was in the way of everyone, I feel that even if she thought of the comfort of the others, she did not think of the feelings of Christopher and ‘tried to pick’ him up. As she had to pay for the two broken mixers, she only feels that she was ‘at the end of my tether’ and again did not remember the feelings of Christopher. She ‘decided it would be better for all’ if she went, but she went without discussing with Christopher’s father. She feels that if she leaves, he ‘would only have one person to look after instead of two’, but she did not think of whether Christopher’s father could cope working and taking care of Christopher altogether. Therefore, it is her behavior and character that shows the side of her selfishness.